Given that I was grilled last week for not mentioning Turnaround Tuesday-"How can you look yourself in the mirror!?!"-I wanted to make sure I led with it today. Not in a mean-spirited way, of course-that's not how we roll in the 'Ville-but as a gentle reminder that there are always two sides to every trade.

I was going to "Turnaround" my Ten Themes for 2013 with a list of opposite vibes for the new year, sorta like that Seinfeld episode, but about forward-looking financial prognostications. I started pulling up charts to map some potential upside targets and stumbled over a few interesting tidbits.

BKX 60 is the downtrend line from all-time highs.

Click to enlarge

S&P 1575ish is a mountainous triple-top dating back to the late '90s.

Click to enlarge

And NDX 2805 is the 50% Fibonacci retracement of the entire move from the tech bubble top and ill-fated burst (I remember that well!)

Click to enlarge

While my 2013 themes were less about stock picks and more about the rapidly-changing world we live in-I wrote last night, "Twitter is to media what HFT is to trading"-I pondered pointing to an upside equity explosion as convention wisdom plays through (money floods from bonds to stocks) and central banks take over the world. Cue The Hollies, in reverse!

And then I thought to myself, "Self, people don't read the Buzz for entertainment-they have Hoofy and Boo for that!-they're looking for serious guidance from (clearing my throat) serious people.

So-being serious-we have competing technical influences as we enter yet another earnings season (my 22nd, if memory serves).

On the bullish hand, we've been talking about The Most Important Levels in the World for a month, the inverse Head & Shoulder patterns that "work" to S&P 1520 and NDX 2700, respectively, in a technical vacuum (and remember, with earnings on tap, fundamentals are going to vie for mainstream mind-share).

With a bearish paw, we could offer that tiered resistance in the NDX rests directly above NDX 2750, the "shoulder" of the previous dandruff included below, and NDX 2805, which is a 50% retracement of the entire tech bubble implosion. Through those lenses, that zone NDX 2750-2800 should provide staunch resistance, at least the first few tries.

Click to enlarge

I don't sense that earnings will be all that impressive; the question becomes whether investors rationalize them, citing trepidation in front of the anti-climactic fiscal cliff. The "Don't Fight the Fed" and "All-of-a-sudden performance anxiety" to start 2013 (following a year of under-performance) could shape near-term psychology although, as you might have surmised, I believe The Devolution of Social Moodwill trump greed by the time the dust settles (I don't profess to know when that will be).

So, how do you play this tape? With stair-step risk management, if that's your thing. We know S&P 1435 and NDX 2700 are near-term support (Technical Analysis 101 dictates the time to buy a breakout is on a retest of said breakout) and we talked targets and resistance above.

That same stylistic approach can be used on any stock with any time frame, so where you stand is most definitely a function of where you sit. And before you risk your hard-earned coin, I encourage you to read Jeff "As Good as it Gets" Saut's missive yesterday, as he is amongst the best in breed.

Random Thoughts:

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) traded strong yesterday and it trades dry again today. This is of interest as it's the single biggest proxy for the health of the European Union (in my humble opinion). Check the chart below; those looking for long exposure can set their sell-stop below $46 for nice and tight defined risk.

Click to enlarge

Check the chart below-the first circle is where Minyanville published The Gold Scold on September 8, 2011-this is not a victory lap, rather another example of the email indicator (we caught all sorts of heat for that one). The second circle is the 200-day moving average, which was recently broken like a bad habit (it tested it again today, and failed).

That's not really true; I've got a great wife and three beautiful children and there's not a day that passes that I don't kiss them all and tell them how blessed I am to have them in my life. I wasn't always able to say that and I don't take it for granted for a single moment. It should never take something bad to make you realize you've got it good.

Todd Harrison is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Minyanville. Prior to his current role, Mr. Harrison was President and head trader at a $400 million dollar New York-based hedge fund. Todd welcomes your comments and/or feedback at todd@minyanville.com.

The information on this website solely reflects the analysis of or opinion about the performance of securities and financial markets by the writers whose articles appear on the site. The views expressed by the writers are not necessarily the views of Minyanville Media, Inc. or members of its management. Nothing contained on the website is intended to constitute a recommendation or advice addressed to an individual investor or category of investors to purchase, sell or hold any security, or to take any action with respect to the prospective movement of the securities markets or to solicit the purchase or sale of any security. Any investment decisions must be made by the reader either individually or in consultation with his or her investment professional. Minyanville writers and staff may trade or hold positions in securities that are discussed in articles appearing on the website. Writers of articles are required to disclose whether they have a position in any stock or fund discussed in an article, but are not permitted to disclose the size or direction of the position. Nothing on this website is intended to solicit business of any kind for a writer's business or fund. Minyanville management and staff as well as contributing writers will not respond to emails or other communications requesting investment advice.